Archive By Section - Outdoors/Recreation

Hello, my friends, Tight Line Jr. here. Well, it's been wet and windy, but I still have a few reports for you. Johnny Gaskin and Frank Chapman caught the limit on trout; that's 30 to all you first-timers. Johnny invited me over for some fried fish and cheese grits.

The mysterious Okefenokee Swamp has long been the source of myth, lore and legend. The land of the "trembling earth," as the Indians called it, is a vast 700-square mile wilderness of grasslands, wetlands, lakes and peat bog islands anchored by towering cypress trees growing from still, dark water. The Okefenokee's diverse natural environments and teeming wildlife have dominated the infrequent efforts of humans to tame it.

SOCIAL CIRCLE - Youth interested in the outdoors can test their knowledge, demonstrate their skills and register to win a muzzleloader at the state's first annual Hunter Education Skills Challenge event Jan. 17 in Walton County.

SOCIAL CIRCLE - The Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division will hold eight public meetings across the state to accept public input on the development of hunting regulations for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 hunting seasons. Proposed changes to hunting regulations will be considered by the Board of Natural Resources in May 2009. Those interested are encouraged to bring these meetings to the attention of others that also may be interested in participating.

SOCIAL CIRCLE - Commercial shad season runs from 6 a.m. on Thursday through midnight on Tuesday, March 31, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division. Regulations for the 2009 commercial shad season are the same as the 2008 regulations.

While shopping for the holidays, don't forget about the feathered friends in your backyard. Help songbirds survive the winter by adding birdfeeders, nest boxes and birdbaths. Black-oiled sunflower seed is a favorite for many seed-eating birds, and insect eaters like suet cakes.

I'm very blessed to be surrounded by some great hunters. No matter if I have had a kill in two days or two months, when I hear a great hunting story I'm so fired up I could spend a week straight in the stand.

The striped skunk is easy to recognize, either by its putrid odor or by its characteristic markings. Contrasting with black fur, a large white spot on top of the skunk's head splits into two lines at the shoulders. Those lines continue along the sides and toward the tail.